Michigan State football at Maryland final score predictions for Week 2

Maryland will welcome Michigan State football on Saturday afternoon for the Big Ten opener. Who wins in Week 2?

It’s been a week, but it feels like that Michigan State football win over FAU was just yesterday, and, honestly, I’m still having some nightmares about that ugly season opener. It was that scary.

Michigan State is known for having some ugly season openers and the much-celebrated Mark Dantonio era really made them popular. There was rarely a season opener under Dantonio in which we left feeling good about the team — and that includes the 2013 Rose Bowl champion squad. So hopefully the trend of getting exponentially better after ugly season openers continues under Jonathan Smith.

That means Michigan State would have to beat a tough Maryland team in Week 2.

And that won’t be easy.

Michigan State will be in College Park on Saturday for the first road game of the Smith era which doubles as his first Big Ten contest as head coach. A win would go a long way, but will the Spartans shock the Terrapins?

The Spartan Shadows staff has given their predictions.

Connor Muldowney: I think this one comes down to the wire with Maryland winning a tight one. I do believe Aidan Chiles will bounce back and Nate Carter will break 100 rushing yards after a forgettable opener. Oh, and we’ll have a major Nick Marsh sighting. I’m going 27-24 Maryland.

MilkManMSU: I think there were overreactions both ways to the results of both teams’ games. Maryland looked great but their opponent, UConn, was questionable. Michigan State could have easily beaten FAU by two more touchdowns — three red zone trips with zero points, penalties that can be fixed in practice, and turnovers that bounce another way make that game far different. Edge to the good guys because I’m biased, 21-17 MSU.

Chris Norman: 34-31 bad guys. Close game. I think the offense figures some things out. It’s not perfect, but better. I think the defense will come back to earth a little bit with the high-powered Maryland offense. The Spartans have a shot late but come up just a bit short, unfortunately. Praying I’m wrong here.

Zack Theis: Michigan State 27, Maryland 34

Emmett Matasovsky: 28-24 Maryland. I think the Spartans are much improved from last year’s 31-9 debacle, but there are still too many things the offense has to iron out to trust MSU to score on command. Our defense looks improved (7 sacks, 5 QB hurries vs. FAU), but that was a historically bad offense that they played. I still expect a sack or two and maybe an interception, and the Spartans could have the ball with a chance to flip the result at the end of the game.

As you can see, all of our writers have Maryland winning this one, but let’s hope we’re wrong.